Clyde

Excellent post Blackdogs.

Sorry but that is just so rare. People used to throw it about a lot "Cocker Rage'. Sounds far fetched to me.

One would assume then, that this would be discussed at drop off. But only reinforces my point that the matt could not be left on, could not be brushed out, so only leaves the last option of clipping or cutting it out.

In my opinion, that's just overkill and silly. Waste of time. The dog is there to be groomed, the matt could not be brushed out - for the dog to be groomed/finished the matt would have to be removed and I would remove it. If I phoned clients for permission to remove every matt I came across I wouldn't get ay work done and my phone calls would cost more than my earnings.

Separate them.

Usually Trish, because none of the dogs would even be able to be clipped like a show dog anyway, I never mock clients for not knowing something, but I do have a quiet inner giggle that people have no grasp of how much work a show coat Poodle would be, or even look like (and why would they when it's not their thing).

What does she do? I missed this earlier.

I've got too many fosters here atm If I can move on one of my dog fosters I'd consider her after chook/stock testing but one of my fosters is 'hard work' and I expect she'll be here for some time.

It's weird to say no to someone wanting to pat a puppy so it's no wonder people get offended. I intentionally take my puppies to busy places so they'll be smothered by strangers wanting to cuddle them.

Sorry LMSW but I think you need to relax a bit. I mean that in the nicest possible way. Puppies make people go gaga, if it means your pup will get extra attention and affection then go for it. Relax, puppies are meant to be fun!

Don't leave the dog unsupervised near the pool. We have had members on here lose their strong swimmers in there own pool. My own Rotti got tangled up in the pool cleaner and panicked once. Thankfully we were there swimming too as he had no pool access at other times. It gave me a real fright though as even though he was always fenced out it's just not something which had crossed my mind.

I charge people extra for fat dogs now. I've had a few buck up about it but it's a lot of extra work - heavy lifting, product and extra time so I got sick of doing it the same price as lighter well cared for dogs.

I guess a builder isn't going to do a crap job and tarnish their reputation so why should a groomer? Especially seeing as the end result is often walked around town. Sometimes I'm asked to do things which I think look silly and that's fine, I oblige - however I always tell the owner not to tell anyone I did it as I think it looks silly and don't want people to think it is the way I work. A couple of weeks ago I had someone book in three Maremmas. She wanted them all clipped right off which in itself was grooming blasphemy, she then wanted one of them in a lion clip including the tail shaved with a pom on the end I just about died, but she knew what she wanted and was ecstatic with the result. Really lovely person who even phoned the next day to say how much she loved what I had done. Meanwhile I'm hoping no other groomers hear about what I did

Could you test her properly? I've taken in heaps of dogs that quickly come around with my 3 cats provided they get to sus the cats out properly. More often that not it's just being able to get to the cat to see what they are. A cat with big balls is best. Out of all my rescues I've only had about 3 that I could not ever trust. She sounds like the most divine dog and even I am sorely tempted but I'm afraid temp testing with chickens isn't proving as easy to overcome as cats.

I like the Flea Funeral. Excuse me, however I will frequently spend lengthy periods on the phone for high maintenance clients and I am good at my job. In fact, a lot of my business is because I have a good phone manner despite how busy I am. Don't make rude assumptions, brush your dog and it won't be a problem in the future. I understand that there are some terrible groomers out there but some comments I see on here are just unreasonable. You wouldn't go to a hairdresser with a tangled matt of hair so why expect to be able to do the same with a dog when we get paid a quarter of the amount, get shat on, fleas, worms dropping on our hands, put up with biting and people making unreasonable requests which would require hurting their dog.

I know some people that swear by this http://miteyfresh.com.au/ticks/Skudo_pet_protection.html on their dogs for fleas. That being said, I have found ticks on dogs with them on so I wouldn't want to bet my dogs life on it. Most of these owners say they lose efficacy after about 8 months or so. If it's just fleas you need to keep at bay it could be worth a try. If you have ticks then I wouldn't be trying anything else other than a pesticide such as Advantix. Not nice I know, but a necessary evil.

People on this forum donate all year around. People buying their own pets presents at Christmas does not make the present 'useless'.

I've bought from both Crazy Sales and Vebo and found Vebo better quality.. Like the other poster the handles broke almost straight away but other than that I am using them for my business and they are doing well.

$200 is what I would charge but I wouldn't do it.

Mmmmm, it's not a food as such, but could it be Vets All Natural?

My Pug does crazy zoomies and grunts while he flies. His tail flattens out like a rudder and he just takes off. :D

Take her to the vet.

He looks very happy, gorgeous smile!! I do bows, the clients love them. I don't use tacky pre made though I make my own from gros grain ribbon. Some clients keep them and return them for next use I often had clients popping in on the day of a special do at their house just to put bows on the dog! Usually just swf's though, as Pav said the Cockers don't normally end up with anything there to attach. Some dogs get them on their collars instead though.

Given that I have found most pups are at their worst when 8 months old, the timing is really off too. They will be at their most trying right when she has her babies.

Two giant breed puppies at the same time is a struggle for even the most switched on owner. She is having twins and attempting to do it, uh uh, no way - bad idea.